Inside Ahmad Fathy’s journey from developer to software engineering manager Ambition, drive, hustle — we see these terms listed in job descriptions, discussed by career development experts, and praised by successful entrepreneurs. But it’s rare to see them in action in such a clear and dramatic way as is evident in Ahmad Fathy’s career. Ahmad’s connection with Crossover began when he applied for a C# engineer position at enterprise software company Aurea, one of Crossover’s largest clients. Although he had passed all the qualifications for the role, it was filled before he had the opportunity to accept. Another manager at Aurea offered Ahmad a position as a SQL developer. Although it wasn’t his first choice, he had experience in this domain and saw the offer as a challenge.

You don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to have a career in tech The technology industry is becoming more global — both for professionals working in IT and businesses looking to hire tech talent. Recently, Crossover CEO Andy Tryba joined a panel of experts at the Going Global: Secrets of Silicon Valley event in San Francisco to share how Crossover has found success hiring software developers and engineers from all around the globe.

Meet Hussein. He’s a software engineering manager at Crossover. Hussein is originally from Cairo, Egypt, but is now based out of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. He’s been working in IT for nearly 15 years in both technical and managerial roles and discovered Crossover while searching for a remote engineering job. Here, he shares how he got started in the tech industry and gives you an insider’s perspective of getting hired at Crossover. How did you get started in the IT industry? I started to advance my technical skills in the programming field working with .NET and C# languages. This allowed me to start as a junior web developer with a small-sized development company, then I moved to [a bigger] development company in Egypt to join as a senior solution developer. What was the Crossover application process like? The application process was really a great experience. I started my process by going through a question/answer trial hosted on HackerRank.com. After passing this stage, [there was a tech trial], and to be frank, it is a must-do experience as it shows your strengths and weaknesses, and for me it was a real benefit. Thirdly, and after passing the tech trial, I got a technical interview with one of Crossover’s technical experts [followed by] a call with the hiring manager. What’s the best thing about working at Crossover? I like being part of a big family from different cultures and backgrounds. What does your work setup look like? I usually work from home, but sometimes I will go into a coffee shop to work. What are some of the challenges of working remotely? Time zone differences would be the top challenge, but that can be easily solved by making sure you’re catching up with team and client time zones. Do you have any favorite tools that help you stay productive? My favorite tool is the internet; this is the only tool that helps me do my work and communicate with my team. How do you stay connected with your teammates? Usually through communication over Skype, Slack, or Zoom.

Meet William. He’s from Brazil and worked as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard before joining Crossover. A former colleague at HP tipped him off about how different Crossover was from traditional office environments — no loud coworkers, no commute, the option to work from home or wherever else you like, plenty of interesting work for anyone who likes a good challenge. William was up for the challenge (and ready to ditch his office job!), so he applied and made it through the evaluation process for Crossover’s highest-level role: Java chief architect. Here, he gives you an insider’s perspective on working at Crossover and shares his best tips and tools for remote work.